


Saffron

by Embers



Series: B.A.P Bingo Challenge [6]
Category: B.A.P, K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, B.A.P Bingo Challenge, Brothels, M/M, Outdoor Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-15 02:00:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4588776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Embers/pseuds/Embers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some flowers will bloom even in the harshest of times.(Sequel to 'Desert Rose') (Written for B.A.P Bingo Challenge's 'Outdoor Sex' square)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Saffron

**Author's Note:**

> This is like 4000+ words of other stuff with an outdoor sex scene XD  
> Also a sequel to this, don't have to read it, but it'll probably add to the fic: http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/882361/desert-rose-yongguk-bap-daehyun-bangdae

When Yongguk finds himself in front of the red door of the mistress’ establishment a few months after his first visit – this time alone – it is with a newfound excitement. Many things had changed since his first time: a promotion, new attire, more wealth but still no one to share it with.

This time he asks for Daehyun by name and the mistress doesn’t look at all surprised, her ruby red lips curling up into a pleased smile.  He is immediately brought to a small room at the back, this one even nicer than the last. There is even a small window, gauzy curtains moving with the breeze as he waits. When he hears the heavier curtain at the door being pushed aside again, he turns towards the sound.

Daehyun is as lovely as his every memory paints him, perhaps even more so. Dressed more modestly than he had been that first meeting, a single long panel of silky fabric in a soft blue falling over him with an opening for his head. It is cinched at the waist by a gold metal belt holding the two sides together, the long tan line of his torso and legs peeking through on either side like strips of sand among water.

Daehyun is smiling but seems hesitant to reach out and touch him until he makes contact first. When he grasps the younger’s hand, the singer moves easily into his space, tucking himself there as Yongguk’s arm winds around him.

“You’ve returned, Master!” he says, voice soft and rich by Yongguk’s ear.

Yongguk lets out a breath, the sweetness of Daehyun’s scent already filling his head. He tilts his body away slightly, lest he find himself attached to the tender spot just behind Daehyun’s ears.

 “You haven’t forgotten my name, have you?”

“Of course not,” Daehyun responds, ducking his head slightly, “Yongguk~”

They take seats on the cushions by the window and soon after the servant brings in trays of refreshments. Daehyun is more excited than he is about his promotion, pulling Yongguk into conversations about all that he had seen and done since they’d last seen each other.

He does not ask Daehyun if he’s been busier since the last visit, it’s not something he wants to know.

 

*             *             *

 

The next time he visits, autumn is settling in for its stay and the markets are bustling with harvest activity. Yongguk arrives after mid-day, when the sun has descended from its peak and the heat more bearable. He no longer needs to ask for Daehyun. Today though, he has slightly different plans.

“Can you join me for an outing this evening?”

Daehyun blinks, his brow furrowing in confusion as he stops short of taking a seat, “You wish…to take me out?”

“Yes,” Yongguk hastens to explain himself, “I thought you might like a change of scenery. I sometimes find myself walking through the city, wishing you were there to share it…”

Daehyun rocks on his feet, face lighting up, “I will have to inform the mistress but I would love to! Where are we going?”

He flicks the younger man’s chin, “It’s a surprise.”

Yongguk speaks to the woman briefly, assuring her he will bring Daehyun back unharmed before the next day. Daehyun joins him in the front entryway, dressed in plainer clothes and a cream coloured robe.

Yongguk flags down a carriage to bring them further into the city, where they are let out in the midst of the busiest square. They walk side by side, Daehyun’s beauty subdued but still eye-catching among the varied sights and sounds. Yongguk notices him eyeing some of the unique street foods that were now in season and he purchases servings of a few of his favourites to share.

“Do you come out often?”

They sit out beneath the shade of a storefront, enjoying the food.

 “Sometimes. Usually only for errands, but never here. I like to sit out and watch the sky in the evenings though, when I can.”

“You do look exceptional beneath its light,” Yongguk responds, face reddening at this rarely spoken poetry.

When they begin walking again, they happen upon a store littered with high end merchandise. Yongguk looks to the younger man with a smile.

“What would you like?”

Daehyun startles, looking from the store to Yongguk and back, “Nothing! I couldn’t possibly, you’ve already gifted me with your patronage and I could not ask for anyone better-“

“Something small then,” Yongguk insists, tugging Daehyun closer to the shop. Yongguk doesn’t have the wealth for what his dreams put Daehyun in, jewels and lengths of gold beyond his reach. Daehyun would look lovely in sapphires, he thinks, and he brightens at the sight of deep blue silk.

He ends up purchasing the boy a set of warm, quality linen sleep clothes, the only thing that seemed to hold his interest in the shop full of shiny baubles and expensive fabrics.

“I should have insisted on something more impressive,” Yongguk sighs as they walk away from the shop, the parcel tucked under one arm.

“You shouldn’t have bothered in the first place, but I thank you for this most practical of gifts,” Daehyun says with a smile, pleased with the humble offering. His expression changes then, a sadness taking over his face.

“I’ve nothing for you.”

“You give me your company.”

 That Yongguk paid for that too is left unsaid, hanging in the air between them as Daehyun shifts closer to his side, his grip on Yongguk’s arm tightening.

“Well, perhaps I will have something suitably worthy of you the next time you come,” he finally says, looking to Yongguk as if to confirm he could indeed expect the captain to return.

“I shall look forward to it,” Yongguk responds.

 

*             *             *

 

“Did you miss me?”

Over a year after he’d first met the young singer he hadn’t changed one bit, it is one of the constants in Yongguk’s life. Daehyun is once again eager to talk, peppering Yongguk with inquires half serious and half teasing and coy like this one.

“Yes,” he answers, as if there is any question.

Yongguk is a man of practicality and Daehyun is his one indulgence. Still, he’d kept to a loose schedule for his visits lest he squander everything he’d set aside away and they were always eagerly reunited with each other.

 “Very much?” Daehyun asks.

“Very much,” Yongguk answers, a grin stretched across his face, “How have you been?”

Daehyun goes about pouring him wine, humming thoughtfully.

“There are always less visitors in the winter months,” he begins, turning to Yongguk with a wide grin, “You needn’t worry about me though. Your patronage has been very generous. I am barely worthy of your presence alone-”

“Nonsense,” he interrupts, “If you saw the fools I spent most of my time with, you’d think otherwise.”

Daehyun laughs, regarding him softly, “And how is your work, interim General?”

“So you heard,” Yongguk says dryly, “I spend much time behind a desk now. Parchment and quill. Very little excitement. I am only glad it is temporary.”

“I should find some way to excite you then,” Daehyun answers gleefully, before sitting up, “Wait here!”

He returns a short while later, holding a loose open-front robe closed around him and wearing a cheeky smile. Yongguk’s eyes follow him as he stops to put out most of the lamps in the room, leaving only the one closest to the center lit.

Coming to stand in front of him, Daehyun grips the edges of his robe and bites into a lip while his gaze flickers to where Yongguk sits, anticipating. Finally, he lets it slide off his shoulders and onto the floor, slipping to the floor like liquid down his skin.

Daehyun’s figure is draped in an intricate body chain, or perhaps several, that wind and crisscross around his torso and thighs. Dotted with jewels, he sparkles in the light coming from the lone lamp, sending glimmers across the small room. The chains are thin enough that their gold doesn’t distract from that of Daehyun’s skin, the placement of the small stones subtly enhancing his figure with its close fit.

“Do you like it?” he asks, fidgeting slightly under Yongguk’s intense stare.

Yongguk laughs softly; reaching out a hand to clasp Daehyun’s hands and draw him closer.

“You say that as though you aren’t perfectly aware of the effect you have.”

“Perhaps I only need Master to remind me,” is the younger’s cheeky response as he drops to kneel over Yongguk’s legs.

He slides his palms up Daehyun’s sides, leaning in to press his lips to the skin above his belly button. Months ago he had brought with him a gift of calamus perfume and he can detect the scent on the younger’s skin now, lightly sweet. He nips lightly at the skin, grinning at the sound Daehyun makes.

He looks up at the younger man, “I want to paint you.”

Daehyun’s hands move from his shoulders to wind around his neck, his body dropping into Yongguk’s lap as he presses close. He brushes his nose against the elder’s affectionately.

“I’d much rather you do something else with your hands.”

The rhythm of the music playing in the front of the den is audible and Daehyun’s body begins to move slowly, his hands on Yongguk’s shoulders. He swings his hips side to side and in tight figure eights that gradually descend to Yongguk’s lap.

The jewels sparkle and chime as he moves atop him, undulating to the sensual rhythm. Yongguk’s fingers press into Daehyun’s side and prompt an intake of breath. His head falls back slightly, voice coming out low and gruff as he stares up at him.

“I thought you couldn’t dance?”

“I learned,” Daehyun whispers, “for you.”

 

*             *             *

 

His following visit, Daehyun is the one to pull him outside.

“Courtesy of the mistress,” he says, tugging Yongguk through the den and out into the back end of the property, now developed into a lovely garden. The space had been unmaintained when Yongguk had first visited, the plants sitting bare and uncultivated. Now, with winding paths, small fountains and many hidden alcoves and high bushes, it is the perfect lover’s playground.

Their relationship had evolved to something more playful and casual, Daehyun bumping into his side as he excitedly pointed out all the exotic flowers and fresh fruit trees. Plucking a few ripe offerings from their branches, he tugs Yongguk deeper into the garden, settling behind a wall of vines.

The younger bites into the fruit, its juices coating his lips as he happily munches away.

“Sweet,” he says thoughtfully, feet moving back and forth to the sound of music filtering outside as he leans on an arm against the grass, “Too sweet, maybe. And soft.”

“Like you?”

“Master is ever the charmer,” Daehyun replies, cheeks tinted, “You know you needn’t ply me with such words.”

Yongguk grins, taking a bite out of his own before crowding the smaller man to the ground.

“But I want to.”

Daehyun lies on his back beneath him, body arched up slightly as he sinks sharp canines coyly into the bright flesh of the fruit once more. Yongguk tilts his head, looking almost analytical, before he holds the uneaten half of his fruit over the smaller man and squeezes the juice onto Daehyun’s bare torso, watching drops of the sticky liquid roll across smooth skin. Daehyun gasps at the slight cold, hand falling to the ground and fruit rolling away out of his grip as Yongguk’s mouth descends on him. Softness follows the paths the juice creates down his ribs, shivers coming when the slight breeze runs past them.

Daehyun’s fingers slide into his hair, gently gripping the short strands to keep him close. Musical notes fall from his lips, head turned towards to the soft grass below. He laughs softly as the birds resting up in the canopy of the tree tops echo him.

“We have company,” Yongguk whispers, “Even the flowers bloom towards you to pay tribute…”

Daehyun squeezes his eyes shut in embarrassment even as his hands slide from Yongguk’s hair down to his back, “Oh, stop that. Save it for your princesses and chamber maids.”

Yongguk’s lips lift into a smile against Daehyun’s belly, “I only ever say what I mean.”

Daehyun hums, dimples appearing on his cheeks when Yongguk moves to hover over him, elbows framing the smaller man’s face.

“That’s what I love about you. My honest soldier.”

They kiss under the last streams of sun creeping through the leaves above. Yongguk’s hands slide beneath the thin material of Daehyun’s clothing, inwardly surprised at his own daring. He doubted any of the others occupants of the brothel would bat an eye but he was someone who rarely showed even the most innocent signs of outward affection. Something about Daehyun brought his inner passion to the surface, bubbling beneath his skin until he burned to a fever pitch he had to sweat out.

Daehyun nips at his ear, whispering as he curves up towards Yongguk’s body already eager against him.

“What if someone sees you, Yongguk?”

His concern isn’t for himself. He is used to being displayed, coveted and hungered after. Yongguk though seemed to find Daehyun’s honour a far greater priority, shielding him from immediate view, a barrier should anyone turn the corner of the hedges. He doesn’t answer Daehyun, only seeking his approval as he loosens their attire. His thoughts ring loud though, as Daehyun lets his hands do their work.

_If someone sees, they will see us together. And they will know everything I’ve not been able to say._

He’s brought back to the present as Daehyun’s hands work over his length, a tiny whine audible as he looks up imploringly at Yongguk, teeth sinking into his lower lip. Yongguk reaches down to take care of the younger, work him open and render him incapable of anything besides breathy moans of his name. Slender legs wrap around him when he slides into the softness beneath him, hands gripping his biceps. Daehyun lets out the sweetest cry, putting any lingering songbirds to shame.

The air is cool now, night falling and sending shivers across their sweat streaked skin. Daehyun fuses himself to the heat of Yongguk’s being, everything from his body to the intensity he always radiated. Daehyun had seen it the moment they’d met, a quiet confidence in him, in what he knew he did well, and his convictions.

With the sound coming from the brothel muted, the lowlight of the garden paints everything in a surreal shade, like they truly were the only two people around and they could indulge in each other forever. The grass is cool and soft beneath them and belatedly Yongguk thanks the stars Daehyun’s silks tonight are black, his body sliding across the staining surface, writhing with pleasure in Yongguk’s hold.

“Master always makes me feel so beautiful,” Daehyun breathes, fingers pressed hard into Yongguk’s back. Yongguk moves slowly inside him, pushing until Daehyun can see stars, so different from the ones above. He feels himself floating, mind going hazy as Yongguk commands all his attention, hands firm on his thighs and eyes focused straight on his face.

“Because you are,” the soldier replies, dropping back down to an elbow, one hand homing in on the apex of Daehyun’s arousal.

The younger man arches desperately beneath him, eyes shining in the faint light. His breath comes faster, soft panting that cuts of his words when he speaks.

“You might…not always think so…”

“I will,” is the reply pressed to Daehyun’s lips before they are locked into a kiss, their coupling reaching its crescendo as the garden plays witness.

 

*             *             *

 

When war comes, Yongguk has little time to act. He remembers to send parcels of supplies to Daehyun and the Mistress as a thank you for looking after the young man. They would soon be at a premium.

After months of pain and bloodshed, Yongguk returns to the side road where Daehyun had lived anxiously. The area had been pillaged as people ran during the war, no longer the bustling city it once was. The feeling only grows when he arrives, dread shooting through him. There is no longer a door but rather an empty opening in the stone façade that he enters with caution. As expected, the inside is bare. Only scraps of fabric remaining in places, worthless items left behind in haste. Anything of value had either been taken while fleeing or looted after the fact.

He searches the building. Looking for anything to indicate Daehyun had ever been there, hopeful for some sign of where he might be now. He comes up empty, returning to the entrance and sitting on the stoop there with his head in their hand.

He asks people in the market if they knew where the occupants had fled to. Most wave him off, some look at him with pity. No one has any answers.

He can only hope that wherever he is Daehyun is alive, living happily, and that he would find him soon.

 

*             *             *

 

A year goes by, then two. Each time Yongguk is able to travel he casts his eyes around his surroundings, searching for that sweet face and infectious laugh. He seeks out music, going out of his way to follow their sounds through every village and town he passes through. Each time, he wonders if Daehyun is in some new land or worse, some place he cannot reach.

One summer he is sent to a village on the border of their territory, known for its vast saffron fields.  Acres of the purple flower decorate the otherwise bare landscape, the only spark of colour for miles. Yongguk was staying at the home of a minor lord along with the few other soldiers that had been sent with him to provide protection for the young prince Junhong, who had come to meet with the villagers here.

His second day in the village, he sets out for an afternoon horse ride.  As always, his eyes are peeled scanning his surroundings as his horse plods along. He doesn’t expect to see anything, but his eyes narrow when they fall on one of the field workers kneeling among the flowers. He is dressed in rough, plain clothes. His pants are rolled up as he works, calves bare and covered in scratches. Despite the dullness of his skin and the leaner figure, Yongguk can make no mistake as he moves closer and hears the gentle humming.

“Daehyun?”

The man’s head lifts, his hand pushing aside the large sun hat on his head. The face that is revealed to him sends tremors through him and he hops down from his horse, dropping to his knees in front of the one he had been searching high and low for.

“Master?” Daehyun says, “Yongguk?”

Yongguk takes the younger’s face into his hands. His fingers smooth over warm skin, smudging away traces of soil. Skin so soft and even more golden, teeth bright white as he smiles.

“I’ve found you,” Yongguk breathes, half in disbelief. He holds Daehyun’s hands in a tight grip, looking at him reverently.

“You must come with me. Unless…well, if you wish to stay. But Daehyun I have been hoping against hope I would find you one day and if you desire it, you need only say the word for me to take you away from here.”

Daehyun shakes his head, tears brimming in his eyes, “I cannot, I am bound to the merchant who owns this land.”

Yongguk curses under his breath. It would do no good to steal Daehyun from under the man and certainly any sum he would ask for him would be exorbitant.

“You live there?” he asks, gesturing to the long house a short distance away on the end of the marked property line.

“Yes. We all do,” he brushes at his eyes, yellow from the flower stems streaking across his cheek, “Mistress gave us all a sum when we had to separate, but I could not live on it for too long. This was the only work I could find, and it came with room and board through I am not permitted to leave.”

Yongguk sighs, mind working as Daehyun’s hand shakes in his, bruises lining his arms and sun burning through the holes in his clothing.

“I will think of something. We’ll be here for the next week. I will return before we leave, that is my promise. You can wait, can’t you?”

Daehyun smiles, genuine and hopeful.

“Of course. For you.”

 

*             *             *

 

Daehyun rises with the sun and sleeps long after it sets for the next two days. He oscillates between tamping down his hopes and telling himself to have faith in Yongguk. On the third day, his indecision comes to a halt.

He is returning from the fields for his mid-day meal, sweat streaming down his back and yellow-tipped fingers. He walks with his head down avoiding the harsh sun as he steps under the threshold of the home, past the lines of bedrolls in the sleeping area and into the small kitchen.

He stops short when he spots the merchant out back, speaking to someone. Stepping closer, he tries not to be seen but his name is called when the merchant spots him.

“Daehyun, come out here!” he says, harsh. Daehyun rushes to obey, his fear subsiding slightly when he sees Yongguk is the second man outside. He wants to smile but he holds it in, still anxious.

“You can still play, can’t you?” Yongguk asks gently, “Music?”

Daehyun nods slowly in confusion.

Yongguk turns to the man once more, “As I said, the Prince desires a teacher who will be able to instruct him in the musical arts, as well as a musician for palace events. If Daehyun agrees, I shall require him to leave with me today. The Prince is willing to offer you a sum equivalent of the rest of his year’s work.”

They wait for the merchant to speak, Yongguk’s gaze hard and Daehyun looking at the wooden floor as his heart thudded. It is impossible to refuse an offer from the Prince, especially one as favorable as this, but Daehyun still worries he might never escape.

The merchant grunts, looking at Daehyun with barely concealed annoyance.

“I would be…honored to grant the Prince his request.”

Yongguk nods, signaling to another man behind him that Daehyun hadn’t taken notice of earlier. The man fishes out a bag from his robes, the contents tinkling inside as it is handed over to the merchant.  Yongguk tells him to gather his belongings and Daehyun speeds back into the quarters, easily packing up his small bag of things and rushing back out. He feels little sadness about leaving, not having become close to any of his fellow workers, all of them too drained and with little time to socialize in their few minutes of free time a day. He hopes perhaps he can help them someday. When he comes back out the merchant is walking away with barely a glance in his direction and Yongguk takes his elbow, guiding him to his waiting horse.

“Does…does the prince really wish to employ…me?” he asks softly.

“Yes,” Yongguk says, joy dancing in his eyes as he keeps his formality up.

“And will I stay with you?”

“If you so choose. You are free to live on your own, if you wish. I assure you Prince Junhong will be generous with his payment.”

“We will live as,” Daehyun whispers the next word, “equals?”

He begins to stumble over his words as he takes in the expression on Yongguk’s face, “Or, well, not equals, but-”

“Daehyun,” Yongguk says, cutting him off as he shakes his head, “We were _always_ equals.”

 

*             *             *

 

Daehyun is welcomed into the lord’s home as a guest, given fresh clothes to wear and the opportunity to clean himself quickly before dinner. He meets the Prince, self-conscious in his plain white garments. His hands are still stained from the saffron and he hides them in his robes as he bows. The prince is a youthful looking figure, tall and sweet-faced, genuinely excited about the chance to learn from him.

When the meal is over, he and Yongguk head up to where their rooms are, side by side and the only two in their wing of the house. Yongguk enters his room behind him and shuts the door, setting down the few items in his hand on a table by the wall. When he reaches for Daehyun, the younger man is slow to come into his space, steps tentative.

“Why do you hesitate?” Yongguk asks, not insisting but curious, “I seem to recall being the cautious one…”

“It is different now,” Daehyun mumbles, “I’m not- I will not presume you desire for someone like me anymore….not as I am now.”

“I never desired you for convenience,” Yongguk replies, hands resting on his face.

He angles his head down and Daehyun leans up to meet him, shyness forgotten in his need to kiss Yongguk after years apart.

“Thank you,” he says against the elder’s neck when he presses himself to him, hugging him close.

Yongguk pulls back to peer at him and Daehyun flushes under his gaze, roving over him like he is reacquainting himself with everything Daehyun is, all the new parts and the old.

“Let me take care of you.”

They sit on the bed, Yongguk gently smoothing a soothing aloe onto the cut and dry skin of Daehyun’s legs, massaging it in gently. He slows when he reaches the softer flesh of the younger man’s thighs, aware of the change in Daehyun’s breathing when he stills. He moves to the younger’s arms, taking special care with his hands.

“I still feel like a pauper in front of you,” he admits, marveling at the warm richness of Daehyun’s skin, a beauty that could not lay dormant, much like the spark in his eyes and the music in his voice.

“How can you possibly think that,” Daehyun replies with a small laugh, self-consciously gripping the fabric of his clothes.

“It was never the silks. Or the gold.”

They prepare for bed and Daehyun asks Yongguk to stay with him. He sends Daehyun to bed first, getting him settled in the plush sheets. Yongguk joins him soon after, finding the younger man looking out the open window to the saffron fields in the distance; their bright, purple flowers waving in the breeze under the setting sun.

It’s the first time he gets to share the younger’s bed knowing he won’t have to leave Daehyun when he wakes. Daehyun curls towards him when he slips beneath the sheets, body pressed against his. The younger tilts his head back slightly, looking up to Yongguk with a trace of mischief in his eyes.

“Did you miss me?”

“Yes.”

“Very much?”

He buries his nose in the strands of Daehyun’s hair. It still holds the scent of the fields.

“Very much.”

 


End file.
